I've mentioned Hogan here and elsewhere a time or two. Hogan is an 8 year old Australian Shepherd who was in remission from Lymphoma for 4 years. [Since 2005.] This year has been a struggle keeping him in remission, the cancer popped up again June-ish and he's been treated with CCNU [http://www.chemocare.com/bio/ccnu.asp] He went back into remission until last Sunday. He got some diarrhea and his mom was giving him a neck massage and could feel his lymph nodes swollen in that area. It was confirmed at the emergency vet that he was out of remission. This all of course happened right before they were going out of town. I was scheduled to dog-sit for them way prior to this, and so they decided to continue with their trip plans. Hogan had a dose of vincristine on Tuesday. His parents left Wednesday. He's been staying with me all week, coming in every day to work with me to have his lymph nodes checked. The swelling didn't go down like the doctor would have liked so he was put back on Prednisone. Still no change Thursday so we ordered Asparaginase and gave the whole 10,000 IU bottle. I think his lymph nodes are smaller, but they are still swollen. You can feel them in his neck, his chest, and his back legs. He has had a cough every once in a while as well which has me worried. I am taking him to the clinic tomorrow to have him evaluated. His appetite is still good and he hasn't crashed from the chemo, I guess he usually does when his white blood cell count gets to where it is at now. This dog is a one in a million Australian Shepherd. He loves everyone, he has a loving personality, not aloof at all. He's adorable, a total stooge. He is the dog I always tell people about when they ask about whether or not they should do Chemo because when he was diagnosed he was given 9 months to live, and here it's been 4 years later and he's still kicking.

If anyone could throw some extra vibes his way that would be great, he's a really good boy!

Thanks SO much for all of the good thoughts! His owners picked him up early and he's at the clinic right now, I hope there's some kind of good news for him. His parents appreciate the kind words, you guys truly are the best!

About a week ago Hogan's lymph nodes became enlarged again and he came out of remission. He didn't respond to doxorubricin or asparaginase, he quit responding to the CCNU. He was getting more painful in his hips and was also having some issues breathing with the nodes being swollen in his chest. He stayed all day at the clinic yesterday while his parents went to some doctor appointments. We all took our pictures with him and got to more or less say our goodbyes. They did a housecall euthanasia, when they brought him into the clinic I started bawling, I think EVERYONE was crying, no lie.

So I just wanted to say a few things.

Although Hogan's body finally gave in, he lived for 4 years after his diagnoses. He was initially given 9mos to live if they didn't treat him, or if treatment did not work. 4 years, even if it isn't the "norm" is at least worth trying. In those four years he really lived.

The loss of a pet is absolutely horrible, and you do feel very alone. But for those of you who have dogs going through cancer, know that the people taking care of your dog can become just as attached. We see them all the time, we handle them, we grow to love them. Not that we don't love all of the patients we care for, but you can't help but form a personal bond with a dog you see and touch regularly. Today was a totally grim day at work for all of us because Hogan was like one of our own.